Playing for Keeps
by UfailATlifenowDIE
Summary: Go tell him you hope his rash clears up!...That was real mature...whatever. That's it! No more dating! I swear I'll get a damn cat! Then the unexpected happens. This game is played for keeps.
1. Introduction of the beast

Playing for Keeps

(yea I changed the name the 1st one sounds retarded)

My newest fic finally on the net. I hope you all like it. It's kinda based on one of my favourite novels with a Naruto world twist, lol. It's not totally AU, everyones ninja, clan stuff yadda. No massacre the Uchihas are pretty much alive and uptight. Cellphone, computers and the lot exist, You'll all find out more about each character as the story goes on. Read and review, if ya wanna.

Disclaimer: Not the owner of Naruto or anything else recognizable in the story. If I did i wouldn't be writing fanfics now would I.

Chapter 1

The Introduction of the Beast

_Once upon a time_, Hinata Hyuuga thought as she stood in the middle of the newest hot spot in Konoha after being forcefully dragged out of her ice cream haven, _the world was full of good men_. She looked over at the handsome face of the man she had planned on taking to her cousins wedding with a carefully expressionless face _those days are gone_.

"That ass," Ino hissed viciously.

"Yeah he looks _real _shaken up about the whole thing," said an equally pissed Tenten who was trying to kill the man across the room with her eyes.

"Oh Hina if I knew he was gonna be here..." Ino turned to Hinata her expression doing a 180 as she face the pixie like Hyuuga.

"It's fine," No one looked convinced. "I'm over it really…trust me and please lets just enjoy our selves… please." They finally relented and returned to watching the swaying movements on the dance floor.

Across the room, Sai stood bored. He glanced to where his ex stood with her friends probably crucifying him if the looks were anything to go by. He remembered clearly what happened yesterday how he broke it off with her. After two months of a monotonous relationship he grew tired of trying to coax the sexy little Hyuuga to his bed. He never had to work this hard for a woman as they usually just threw them selves at him without much effort on his part.

He didn't even remember how he had even begun dating the Hyuuga, his thought process must have been malfunctioning that day. One minute he was mentally criticizing her drab baggy wardrobe then the next minute he was next to her asking her out on a date. It must have been her smile with those pert little lips of hers. They were sweet enough for him to forget how she dressed at the time especially now that he had had a glimpse of what she was hiding. But now he was becoming sexually frustrated, I mean what normal man could and would wait so long for sex.

The look she gave him made him feel like he just kicked the worlds cutest puppy and he wasn't a bad guy at all, at least in his mind.

"Look at him, looking all uptight as usual," said Ino, looking tall and hot as she leaned on the bar.

"You want me to call Neji to beat him up." Insisted Tenten seriously.

There was no way Hinata was going to get the groom-to-be involved in this, he was already overly overprotective as it was without the fact added that he didn't think much of Sai in the first place.

"That's…really not necessary," Hinata wasn't sure Tenten was joking or not.

"If you say so, Hina, but the offer is long standing," she then turned to glare at the pale man across the room.

Hinata thought of her two best friends, they were your classic beautiful tall thin bold model types. Sai would have never treated them so callously, other than the fact that they'd castrate him, they were the type of girls a guy like Sai wanted not her with her short frumpy self. Her breast and hips were exaggerated for her size and she always felt overly self conscious about them.

Having thought herself into a depressed stupor Hinata took up her glass of scotch and downed it one foul gulp. The harsh liquid burned her throat before it began to warm her and lift her spirits.

"Can I… I have another," Hinata's voice was slightly slurred already; she never could hold her alcohol well. The red headed bartender smiled at her in what Hinata would describe as seductive while her equally red eyes glinted in a way that would have made Hinata blush if her cheeks weren't already flushed from the effects of the alcohol.

"Hinata-chan are you really gonna sit there and drink yourself into a stupor, lets go dancing." Hinata drew her attention away from the mesmerizing bartender to answer her blonde friend who was clacking her impossibly high heels impatiently.

"I'm really not in the mood right now," she said as she took a gulp of her newly acquire drink. "If I go I'll be grounded upon by those animals." She pointed her half empty glass in the direction of the dance floor.

"Oh I see, so because of one dickhead you're swearing off men for life!" Ino was exasperated. The bartender perked up on hearing this and was looking at Hinata with an almost predatory look.

"Come one let's go before Miss Thang here jumps you" said Ino as she dragged Hinata away while nodding her head at the bartender who pouted cutely as the little cutie was removed from her reach.

Tenten and Ino had Hinata all over the place until the blue haired girl's head was spinning from the rush.

"You know what you need now" Ino was contemplative as she leaned on a large speaker.

"What?" Hinata was curious yet scared, when Ino had that look things were about to get hectic as hell.

"A new date for Ten's wedding"

"WHAT!!!!" Hinata choked on her drink.

"Yeah! She does, some one to take the place of the emotionless loser, who wouldn't know a good thing if it bit him in the ass." Tenten fumed for a second.

"But I don-" Hinata tried to deter them from whatever crazy scheme they had planned.

"OHH!!!! Hottie at 12:00" Shrieked Ino.

"12:00?"

"Up on the balcony"

"Hel-lo! I think we have a winner" Hinata watched with dread as her best friends' ohhed and awed at whatever was upon the faux balcony.

"Hina look will ya" groaned Ino at Hinata's stubbornness.

She reluctantly turned her head and looked up. "What exactly am I looking at?"

"The dark-haired guy in the navy blue shirt, in the middle of the group by the door." Tenten kindly pointed out.

"Middle?" Hinata zoned in one the group which consisted of four men talking to a gorgeous pink haired woman. One of the four turned out to be Sai who was looking out into the crowd like a king surveying his kingdom. It was probably taking all his self-restraint not to do a Queen Elizabeth wave.

"That's Sai, Kami he's already dating someone else!" Hinata had a sinking feeling in her chest.

"Forget Sai and Pinky and LOOK at the guy in the middle, wait till he faces us again, he doesn't seem to like Sai all that much." Ino wanted to pull her hair out at Hinata sometimes.

Hinata squinted at the group again. The guy in the navy button down was taller than Sai, and his hair darker and thicker, but otherwise from behind, he was pretty much Sai II.

"I'm not doing the sequel." Hinata huffed, until he turned around that is.

Dark eyes, strong cheekbones, classic chin, broad shoulders, chiseled everything and all of it at ease as he stared out over the club, ignoring Sai.

Hinata sucked in her breath as every cell in her body came vibrantly to life and screamed,_ This one._

She quickly turned away before anyone could see her slack jawed appreciation. Sai must have dumped her pretty hard cause her DNA had gone haywire. Or was it just attracted to a high class sperm donor? Every woman in the club with working ovaries probably looked at him and thought the same thing. It was biology not destiny. The damage a beautiful creature like him could do to a girl like her would be devastating, world class crisis. She sipped her scotch to ease her thought process. "He's pretty." She said in what she hoped was a indifferent voice.

"No way, he's not pretty, Sai's pretty, this man is a god" said Ino in an almost wistful voice so foreign to her normal nature.

"O..k then, he's obviously full of pheromones" shrugged Hinata. Reasoning Ino attraction and her own to the man across the room on the balcony.

"You know I think I know him…"

Both girls turned to Tenten who now had a thoughtful look on her face.

"What? Like in biblical sense?" quirked Ino with a cheeky look on her face. "Lucky Gal."

Tenten glared at the blue eyed blonde.

"I recognize the blonde, he's a friend of Neji and Lee. Umm... Uzumaki, I think and the dark haired one is his best friend…hmmm what's his name again?"

"Is he fair game?

"Maybe but not the type we're looking for. I seem to remember Neji saying something… like he's the hit and run type, makes you love him then he leaves."

"Oh Kami, that's beastly!"

"He's like Sai." Added Hinata sagely.

"Like you ever loved Sai." Snorted Ino.

"_Well I was trying to," _huffed Hinata with a glare.

"It's not like it matters anyway, all you need is a date to Ten's wedding. So even if it takes the beast a couple months to dump you your covered and you can drop him first, so just go over there-

"No" Hinata turned her back on everyone to stare blankly at the walls while she fought the urge to stare at the beast on the balcony. Really the smart thing to do was stop dating and get a cat.

"You know she's not going she can be as stubborn as Neji when she's ready"

"Screw that," Ino nudge Hinata. "Imagine the look on your dad's face if you brought him to the wedding, he might ease up on you a bit about finding a husband."

"That's it! I remember…I remember his name!" shouted Tenten with a snap of her finger.

"Well spit it out," prompted Ino.

"Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha."

End

WELL... thats that tell me what you think so far. Should I continue? Or just give up trying to right fanfics?...on second thought dont answer that part ^^ lataz.


	2. The Bet

A second chapter to my my story from God knows when. I don't hate Sai.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"You need to go over there, really no doubt about it, must , must!"

"Why are you oh so adamant that I go over there, this can only end in embarrassment the way I see it."

"Exactly, and you'll be the one doing the embarrassing," reasoned Ino as if it was the most logical thing, "just go over there and tell him you hope his rash clears up, introduce yourself to the beast, smile and don't stutter, easy"

"That's real mature Yamanaka, we aren't genin any more. Anyways I don't care if I have a date to the wedding as long as," she turned to Ten Ten, "you and Neji are happy then Im good."

She suddenly thought of her father's face when he heard about the break up and suddenly she wasn't so good.

Hinata sighed.

"No you're not!" Ino said. "Your just too much of a wimp to go over there and take what you need."

"I don't _need_ anything."

"Hmm hmm," murmured Ten Ten. "You know this can work and like Ino said you can drop him after and everybody will be happy. Plus he'll get a taste of his own medicine." She smiled devilishly.

"I can't believe your still on her side."

"Yosh! Do it for all the girls suffering from the Uchiha heartbreak." Ino was in her element.

"You guys are talking like it's a given he'll accept me, he's probably only dated the model type like those Anbu squad chicks…I'm more like the terminally chubby heiress, for kamis sake. "

"Ugh! Hyuuga, always so negative. I thought you wanted to be an emissary for Konoha, you better start learning to see the positive said of things. And you definitely need to take more risks, you can't hope to get along being book smart and just knowing fancy politically acceptable chit chat especially when that guy up there might be the next Hokage." Ino waved her hand frivolously to emphasize her point while Ten Ten nodded sagely behind her.

"How do you know he might be the next-

"Hush now and besides if you don't do something then _I will._"

Hinata's blood ran cold.

"Come on Ino , no need to threaten her." laughed Ten Ten at Hinata's expression. "She'll go, right Hina?"

Hinata looked over at the faux balcony. It really didn't seem like a bad idea, she could just go near enough to hear what they were saying and if this Uchiha sounds nice enough she'd make her move, if not she'd get outta there faster than Ten Ten can hit 100 targets, which was pretty damn quick.

Hinata sighed. Standing here wasn't doing anything for her. And even with these eyes she couldn't see into the future. She squared her shoulder as if preparing a fighting stance. "Prepare yourself Uchiha."

With her two best friend cheering her on she said a little prayer that she didn't make a fool of herself, straighten her jacket and thought of a cool icebreaker. Hopefully she really didn't make a fool of herself otherwise she'd spit on the Uchiha, Juuken Sai then shove him over the railing, go home take a shot and pray she didn't cause some clan war in the village.

Up on the landing Sasuke was thinking seriously about pushing Sai off the landing. This was all Naruto fault, he was such a loud mouth. He just had to drag him here then call Sai's attention to them. Dobe.

"Hey teme, check out that blonde over there in the purple heels. You think she'd be into dating a village icon."

Naruto could be so vain at times. "You're not Hokage yet, dobe, You barely even made Anbu captian."

"Aww man, why are you bringing that up. I didn't know that was a part of the test." Sasuke smirked amusedly at him. " Just shut up, teme. Anyway she doesn't know about that, I'll just be all dark and handsome and she'll be putty in my hands. No one can resist the Uzumaki charm."

_More like bull-headed and clueless. When it comes to women at least._ "Whatever Naruto."

"Oh ye of little faith, let's make a bet. When I win you take my border duty and if I lose I take yours."

"No bet." Naruto face vaulted.

"Whaaa! Oh come on. Scared?"

Sasuke almost rolled his eyes. "No, I just don't want you bitching to me when you lose."

"Ahhh! Come on teme." Sasuke ignored Naruto and scanned the club again. At the bar Karin waved to him but she didn't smile. Something was up.

"Come on teme help me out here, it'll be fun, and look there's a hyuuga there and she's kinda cute, hmm, hmm." Naruto nudged Sasuke with a foxy grin on his face.

"Hyuuga? In the jacket? " Naruto's face became hopeful as he nodded vigorously.

"No."

"I hate you."

"And yet you always hang around."

"Touché." Naruto sighed. "I guess I can't stop you from wasting time pining over Sa-Ku-Ra."

Sasuke gave Naruto a half glare as he knew that they both knew that Sasuke doesn't pine. Over anyone. Period.

"Anyway, whatever Haruno was looking for she sure as hell wasn't gonna get it from me."

"She coulda gotten it from me," swooned Naruto.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he remembered Naruto 's crush on the medic nin.

Speak of the Devil "Damn it" Sasuke had just spotted the pink haired nin and Sai was with her, double great. Hopefully she didn't see-

"Sakura-chan!" If looks could kill Naruto would be so dead right now.

Sasuke tried to find a quick exit without looking too desperate, one appropriate to a shinobi of his stature short of a outright shunshin, but the only respectable way was blocked by a blonde idiot.

Sasuke sighed inwardly and readied himself for it.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura shrieked. Why she acted as if they didn't just see each other earlier at the Hokage's office was beyond him. He amused her.

"Hello, Sakura."

"Uchiha-san, it's good seeing you again." Sai voice whenever he spoke to him ever since grated on Sasuke's nerves. It was just so flat and emotionless. God he wanted to punch him everytime he spoke because he just knew that Sai spoke like that deliberately just to piss him off.

He gave the Root member a thin smile. "Sai-san." He turned to Sakura. "So you two are dating now?" He gave her a slightly amused look. Sakura blushed as she forgot herself but regained her composure instantly.

"No actually we just ran into each other, it's refreshing to see him out of uniform, haha, and then Naruto called so we came over together." Sakura had a slightly disturbed look on her face as she wondered why Sasuke had that effect on her. Here she was explaining to him something she didn't even need to. She needed to get over him and soon.

"Hn" Sakura was good at seeing thing s that weren't there when it came to him so in order for her not to misinterpret his manner he continued while radiating no jealousy as hard as he could. "You two would make a good couple."

Naruto's eyebrows shot up into his blonde hairline while Sai half raised an eyebrow. Sakura on the other hand kept such a blank look that Sasuke had to wonder what she was thinking. He inwardly shrugged and went on. He turned to Sai, "You two should think about dating."

"Ah, yes, I agree." Said Sai in his 'to annoy the Uchiha voice'. Now it was Sakura's turn to gape at the shinobi beside her. "What? Just because I gave you the moniker ugly doesn't mean you are."

"Well don't let us keep you, why don't you go to dinner right now." Naruto was amazed how Sasuke twisted the whole situation. He shook his head and glanced back at the blonde he was eyeing.

"Um…well…that's a interesting idea. I'll just go freshen up." Sakura was outta there like like a bat out of hell. Sasuke felt mildly bad about putting her in such a situation but then he took a healthy swallow of alcohol and suddenly he didn't feel so bad.

"So Sai how are the new root trainees now that your Danzo'a top man?" asked Naruto amiably.

"Dickless, you and I both know that that's classified information." The he chuckled "but I can't blame you for trying, we are Root afterall."

Sasuke rolled his eyes firstly for his arrogance and secondly for the fact that his tone was completely different than when he spoke to him. His left jaw twitched.

"So Uchiha-san I thought you were dating Sakura?"

"No, she broke up with me." Answered Sasuke with his back turned to the Root member.

"Isn't it usually the other way around?"

Naruto snickered at Sasuke's fib. "He must be losing his touch. I even gave him an easy one and he said no"

"Which one?" Said Sai.

"The one in the jacket by the hot blonde at the bar."

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	3. The Stakes

New Chap yay!

Chapter 3

Sai aimed a fake smile at Sasuke that caused the Uchiha nin to frown. "She shouldn't be that hard to get, she's not Sakura."

This caused the Uchiha's frown to deepen. "She's alright"

"Hmm, sure, after all no one can say no to you."

"What are you saying?" Sasuke said his eyes narrowed.

"I'm willing to bet that you can't get that one, not even touch her much less to bed her."

The Uchiha drew back. "_What?"_

Sai chuckled but there was an unusual ring to his voice when he continued. "Uchiha, it's just a bet though I thought you were one for taking risks. I've seen you bet on damn near everything with dickless so why not this easy challenge."

Sasuke seriously contemplated shoving a kunai into Sai's neck cause simply pushing him over the balcony wouldn't even phase him.

Naruto faced his friend and mouthed _Humor him, _Sasuke sighed. There must be something that he could ask for to make Sai back down. He remembered Sai had an art book with exceptionally beautiful picture that he seemed to prize. He had seen it on a mission he had painstaking carried out with him. "What about that art book you're your always carrying?"

For the first Sasuke saw true emotion flicker across Sai's face, surprise, before it faded. " No way but I like your guts. How about if you win I give you a scroll that I came across on a mission that not even your sibling knows about as well as unclassified mission details, it seems to have valuable information about your eyes, and you'll possibly know how to decipher it. But for that, though, you have to get her into bed."

Sai had a look on his face that could be described as smug, knowing that Sasuke couldn't turn down this offer as he was always looking for ways to hand Itachi his ass. _Damn it_.

"And what will you want in return?"

"Nothing big just that you'll carry out any single specified mission I ask without question"

He's got to be kidding. I COULD BE EXECUTED FOR TREASON.

"Don't worry it's nothing to mess up your record with Hokage-sama besides I'll play fair, I'll give you a month to get her out of that huge jacket."

"Piece of cake!", Naruto which caused the Uchiha to glare at him.

"This isn't my kind of bet." _But I really want that scroll._

"It's my kind." Sasuke realized that Sai was serious about this. _Well Shit._

Drinking must have shut down Sai's brain. Once he was sober he'd come back to his senses. He scanned the room and was inwardly delighted that the woman in the jacket had disappeared during the conversation.

Sasuke turned to Sai. "Well, too bad, but the woman left."

Things were finally going his way.

Hinata had walked across the room, telling herself that it was a real toss-up as to which would be worse, trying to talk to this guy or enduring Ten's wedding unescorted.

When she neared the landing, she silently edged her way under the rail, catching snatches of conversations as she went, not stopping until she heard Sai's voice faintly above her, saying, "But for that, though, you have to get her into bed."

_What_? Hinata thought. It was noisy up there by the door, maybe she hadn't heard him—

"I'll play fair," Sai went on. "I'll give you a month to get her out of that huge jacket."

Hinata looked down at her lavender jacket. "Piece of cake," somebody said to Sai, and Hinata thought, _Bastards. _Forced herself to move on before she climbed the railing and killed them both with a surprise juuken to their icy hearts.

She headed back to Ino and Ten ten, tearing up and fuming. She knew exactly what Sai was up to. He assumed she wouldn't sleep with anybody because she'd turned him down.

She'd warned him about that, about the assumptions he made because the thought he could read people so well, but instead of taking her advice, he'd kept asking her out.

_Because he thought I was a sure thing, _she realized. Because he'd looked at her and thought,

_Boring shy woman who'll never cheat on me and will be grateful I sleep with her. _"Bastard," she said out loud.

She should have sex with Uchiha Sasuke just to pay Sai back. But then she'd have no way of getting even with the Uchiha. God, she was dumb. Lame and dumb, there was a winning

combo.

"What's wrong?" Liza said when she was back at the bar. "Did you ask him?"

"No. As soon as you finish your drinks, I'm ready to go." Hinata turned back to the balcony and caught sight of them, just as they caught sight of her.

Sai's face was reminiscent of smug, but Uchiha Sasuke clutched his drink and looked like he'd just seen Death.

"There she is," Sai crowed. "I figured she'd be back."

"Listen, Sai," Cal began, consigning that horrible lavender jacket to the lowest circle of hell.

"A bet's a bet."

Sasuke put his empty glass down on the rail and thought fast. The Hyuuga did not look happy, so the odds weren't impossible that she'd go for a chance to get out of the bar if he offered dinner. Frig the scroll now, he'd find another way to get it later! _Damn it._

"Look, Sai, sex is not in the cards. I'm not that slimy. You want to bet a few bucks on a pickup, fine, but that's it. Nothing with a future."

Sai shook his head. "Oh, no, I'll bet on the pickup, too, 50 bucks if you leave with her. But the scroll is still on. If you _lose . _. ." He 'smiled' at Sasuke, drawing out the 'lose,' "you do the mission for me for free."

"Sai, I can't make that bet," Sasuke said, trying another tack. "I have a teammate who—"

"I'm good for it," Naruto said. "Teme never misses."

Sasuke was about to set Naruto on fire when Sakura slid back into the group and put her hand on his arm.

She leaned into him and a light feeling annoyance came over him as he realized that she was preparing an all out flirt fest.

"She's over there waiting for you," Sai said, an edge in his voice.

"She?" Sakura's glow dimmed. "Are you seeing somebody?"

_Oh, hell_, Sasuke thought. No one hated complications more than him.

"Sasuke?" Sakura said.

"I _love _this," Naruto said smiling like a fox..

Sasuke sighed. It was the Hyuuga in the jacket or Sakura, the rock or the soft place who wanted to tie him down. He detached her hand from his arm. "Yes, I'm seeing somebody. Excuse me."

He pushed past Sakura and Sai and headed for the bar, wishing them both the worst fate he could

think of, that they'd end up together.

Hinata watched Uchiha Sasuke move toward the stairs. The beast. He thought that he could get her in a month, that she was so pathetic she'd just—

Her brain caught up with her train of thought, and she straightened.

"Will you tell us what's wrong?" Ino said.

"A month," Hinata said.

He walked down the steps and made his way through the crowd, ignoring the come-hither looks of the women the well known Uchiha passed.

He was coming to pick her up.

Suppose she let him.

Suppose for the next three weeks she made him pay by stringing him along and then took him to

Ten's wedding. He wouldn't leave her; he had to stick for a month to win his damn bet. All she

had to do was say no to sex for three weeks, drag him to Neji and Ten's wedding, and then leave his ass cold like his heart.

Hinata settled back against the bar and examined the idea from all sides. He more than deserved to be tortured for three weeks. And in that three weeks she could figure out a way to make Sai suffer, too.

And her family would have somebody upstanding, beautiful and talented to point out to people at the wedding as her date. It was a plan, and as far as she could see, it was all good.

The bartender came back and Hinata said, "Rum and Coke, please. A double."

"Was he mean to you?" Ten said. "What happened?"

"I-I didn't talk to him." waved them away. "Move down the bar a c-couple of feet will you. I'm about to get hit on and you're c-cramping my style."

Nerves were bringing back her long gone stutter. She mentally violently crushed it while her friends stared wide eyed at her.

"We definitely missed something," Ino said to Ten.

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